• toynbee@lemmy.world
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    8 months ago

    Supposedly, in a classic episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor calculated that there was a non-zero chance for all of the molecules in a rubber ball to align with all of the molecules in a wall in such a way as to allow the ball to pass through the wall. He then spent some time bouncing the ball off of said wall to test the theory. Perhaps something similar could be a backup plan for the guy in this comic.

      • toynbee@lemmy.world
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        8 months ago

        I never saw the episode myself, but I suspect that is not what happened in the episode.

        • gregorum@lemm.ee
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          8 months ago

          IIRC, they were released from their imprisonment before the hypothesis could be fully tested. But I haven’t seen the episode in a very, very long time.

    • Neato@ttrpg.network
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      8 months ago

      How is that possible? The ball is interacting with its own atoms via the electromagnetic field, right? Providing enough of a repellant force so it doesn’t phase through itself. Why would the wall be any different?

      I thought this kind of thing was quantum tunneling.